The Stories That Bind Us, Giving Back, Reaching Out to Friends, Movie Gift Ideas

Ken Craig on the power of stories, Lisa on how to serve this holiday season, Rod Gustafson and Becca Hurley on how to reach out to old friends, Rod Gustafson on giving movies as gifts.   Giving Tuesday (00:00) Lisa talks about picking a charity and how to give at Christmas. The Stories That Bind Us (13:16) Ken Craig joins Lisa to discuss how to ensure your family stories get passed on and why it’s so important to share cross-generational narratives. He offers twenty yes/no questions so you can see how much you know about your own family. 1\. Do you know how your parents met? 2\. Do you know where your mother grew up? 3\. Do you know where your father grew up? 4\. Do you know where some of your grandparents grew up? 5\. Do you know where some of your grandparents met? 6\. Do you know where your parents were married? 7\. Do you know what went on when you were being born? 8\. Do you know the source of your name? 9\. Do you know some things about what happened when your brothers or sisters were being born? 10\. Do you know which person in your family you look most like? 11\. Do you know which person in the family you act most like? 12\. Do you know some of the illnesses and injuries that your parents experienced when they were younger? 13\. Do you know some of the lessons that your parents learned from good or bad experiences? 14\. Do you know some things that happened to your mom or dad when they were in school? 15\. Do you know the national background of your family (such as English, Columbian, Russian, Vietnamese)? 16\. Do you know some of the jobs that your parents had when they were young? 17\. Do you know some awards that your parents received when they were young? 18\. Do you know the names of the schools that your mom went to? 19\. Do you know the names of the schools that your dad went to? 20\. Do you know about a relative whose face “froze” in a grumpy position because he or she did not smile enough? Giving Back (52:57) There’s data to prove which states have the most Christmas Spirit. GetCenturyLink looked at data for online activity and area culture in all 50 states. Online activity was determined by online searches for Christmas related things, Christmas tweets, and Christmas music streaming. Culture was determined by the percent of charitable giving and the number of Christmas tree farms. Washington state ranked number one followed by South Dakota and then Utah. Most of us probably aren’t going to start growing Christmas trees or start tweeting ‘Christmas’ a thousand times to increase our holiday cheer, but we can give back to the unsung heroes in the world. Lisa tells us how. Reaching Out to Friends (1:02:50) How do you rekindle a relationship you’ve let die? Rod Gustafson, Becca Hurley, and Lisa discuss the best ways to reach out and connect with friends they’ve lost touch with. Movie Gift Ideas (1:28:33) Producer Rod Gustafson and Lisa discuss the best way to give movies as holiday gifts, particularly finding a custom movie for a friend or loved one to enjoy.